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There are two ways to recycle blue box materials in the County of Wellington. Weekly curbside collection is provided to all households in the County, and all residents can also use any of the six County waste facilities. There is no charge to participate in the Blue Box Recycling programme. Preparation instructions are provided on the recycling collection and recycling drop off pages. If you are a new resident in the County, please feel free to contact Solid Waste Services with your questions.
Curbside collection is in two streams placed in separate blue boxes - Containers and Paper Products (including Corrugated Cardboard). Curbside collection includes cart collection for apartments and schools.
Blue box materials are collected in three streams when you drop off at waste facilities - Containers, Paper Products and Corrugated Cardboard. Dedicated bins at waste facilities are labelled for each of the materials accepted.
Acceptable Paper Products
Acceptable Containers
Printable Acceptable Materials List
Examples of non-acceptable glass: drinking glasses, plates, coffee cups, window glass, ceramics, light bulbs, mirrors, any broken glass, etc.
- these different types of glass do not have the same melting point as glass containers
Examples of non-acceptable paper products: gift wrap, gift bags, tissue paper, waxy cardboard, spiral wound frozen food containers (i.e. frozen juice container), laminated papers, any papers with foreign materials attached, paper cups, paper towels, toilet paper, candy wrappers, carbon paper, photographic paper, blueprint paper, facial tissue, thermal fax paper, art work, cards (with foil, plastic, ribbon or lamination), etc.
Examples of non-acceptable plastics: motor oil and pesticide containers, plastic bags, Styrofoam, prescription vials/bottles, reusable plastic food containers, shrink wrap, toys, plates, laundry baskets, meat trays, hangers, cutlery, etc.
Examples of non-acceptable metals: pots and pans, aerosol and paint cans, hangers, cutlery, scrap metal, snack/chip bags, etc.
These items are not accepted because of contamination, attachments which cannot be removed, or there is no market for the material.
Wishcycling
"Wishcycling" is when people put things into their blue box that do not belong, in the hopes that they will get recycled anyways. Watch Recycle Coach's short video below to learn more about "wishcycling" and why it is a problem.
Also, check out this article: 3 Big Reasons "Wishcycling" is Always a Bad Idea.
Not sure what to do with an unwanted item?
Use the Recycle Coach waste app to look up how to properly dispose of certain items.
Gold Box Reward Programme
Read about the Gold Box Reward Programme - a new initiative designed to reward the County's best recyclers.
Have a broken blue box?
Take your broken blue box to any County waste facility to be exchanged for a new one for free. The broken blue box will be recycled.
